EU defers decision on safety of weedkiller ingredient

BRUSSELS, March 8 (Reuters) - The European Union on Tuesday
put off a decision on whether to extend approval for weedkiller
ingredient glyphosate, used in herbicides including Monsanto's
Roundup, after a dispute between EU and U.N. agencies over
whether it causes cancer.

Experts from all 28 member states attended a closed-door
meeting on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels, which had been
expected to endorse a European Commission proposal to extend
authorisation of glyphosate for 15 years until 2031, EU
diplomats said.

Commission sources said the meeting stopped short of a vote
and the discussion would continue at another session of the
committee on May 18-19, or possibly before.

Already on Monday, it had become clear a decision was very
unlikely after France said last week it was opposed to approval
of glyphosate and diplomats said the EU's biggest power,
Germany, planned to abstain from any vote.

The Commission has said it needs a decision over the coming
weeks to prevent a legal vacuum when an existing approval
expires at the end of June.

Before the meeting, the European Food Safety Authority,
which advises EU policymakers, issued an opinion that glyphosate
was unlikely to cause cancer. But the World Health
Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC) has classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to
humans".

Environmental campaigners have called for a ban. "As long as
there is conflicting scientific advice, glyphosate should not be
approved for use in the EU," Greenpeace EU food policy director
Franziska Achterberg said.

A statement on the website of Monsanto, which calls
Roundup the flagship of its agro-chemicals business, said it
strongly disagrees with the IARC's classification. It has filed
a legal challenge in the United States.

The Glyphosate Task Force, which brings together Monsanto
and other companies, said there had been a rigorous assessment
of consumer safety and it expected approval in the coming weeks.
(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)